


Out of the Blue

by HamletMouse



Category: Free!
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Future Fish, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Firefighter!Makoto, First Time, Fluff, M/M, Mating, Merman!Haru, Merman!Sousuke, Porn With Plot, Rimming, Tiny bit of Angst, merman!Rin, more plot than porn tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-27
Updated: 2016-03-28
Packaged: 2018-05-29 10:58:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 20,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6372139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HamletMouse/pseuds/HamletMouse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was always there lately, sat cross-legged on the crag of rocks that Haru liked best; close enough to be reachable by the beach but far enough away to give the illusion of solitude and certainly hidden from prying eyes. Haru wasn’t stupid; he was very aware of how dangerous human beings could be. Rumours of merpeople being captured and experimented on were rife in the ocean community. But he couldn’t help but be curious...</p>
<p>Basically, another merman!Haru fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part one

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a birthday fic for Midori that I spent a whole year writing. So sorry for the long wait Mimi, I hope it's worth it :)

He was always there lately, sat cross-legged on the crag of rocks that Haru liked best; close enough to be reachable by the beach but far enough away to give the illusion of solitude and certainly hidden from prying eyes. Haru wasn’t stupid; he was very aware of how dangerous human beings could be. Rumours of merpeople being captured and experimented on were rife in the ocean community. But he couldn’t help but be curious.

This in itself was new to him. At first he was just annoyed that his favourite above-water spot had been taken however this man seemed different from other humans. For one thing he was alone. As far as Haru understood, humans were pack animals and liked the company of their own kind yet he was always by himself; always watching the waves with dark green eyes that shone with both fear and awe. And Haru’s curiosity was piqued.

Merpeople were not naturally drawn to others. They were quite solitary creatures only living with one mate and sending their young off to fend for themselves as soon as they’re able to. He hadn’t seen his parents for years. Sometimes platonic bonds were made but this was definitely not the norm. Haru did have a friend who he saw now and again mostly at the instigation of the other and the urge for company was never strong and never frequent. In his admittedly limited experience, humans seemed to flock together, laughing, playing and jumping in the waves without any care for the water around them. So to see a young man by himself just studying the water like it was a puzzle to be solved was mysterious to say the least and Haru found himself swimming closer each day, careful to remain under the water only occasionally raising his bright blue eyes above the surface.

Over the last few weeks, he had seen all kinds of expressions across this man’s face: sadness; happiness; calm; confusion. He mostly just smiled, his eyes lowered towards the sea, his presence calming and gentle. And so it was only natural, he reasoned, to feel even more curious when the smile wasn’t there one evening and instead was replaced with tears.  What was maybe not so natural was the urge to swim closer; to be drawn to the man despite the known dangers. Haru was not one to disobey his instincts however and obeyed the urge moving silently through the water. Not only were there tears in the human’s eyes, but there seemed to be a black sort of dust all over his face and hair. Haru swam closer still until he could see the individual drops of water on the other’s face. He’d never got this close before; if he wanted to, he could reach out and touch him. 

Thankfully the human’s despair had evidently been so great he’d hidden his face in his hands, conveniently shielding the curious merman from his view. Taking his chance, Haru swam right up to the edge of the rocks to study the figure before him. He seemed somehow bigger this close up and his biceps were emphasised by the tight blue t-shirt he wore. He wasn’t sure how human’s normally smelt but there was a strong musky smell about this one; something Haru hadn’t come across before. He could hear the heavy breathing behind the man’s large hands and he was intrigued by what had made him so upset. Haru’s friend Rin cried all of the time but Haru had never had anything happen in his life that had made him feel sad. He was so wrapped up in studying the other that he didn’t move quickly enough when the human raised his head from his hands. And he was stunned.

He was wrong about the dark eyes before, these eyes were bright and alive and Haru could see a million emotions burning behind them. He froze, his heart beating fast, his stomach somersaulting. The other boy jumped.

‘Oh, gosh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realise I wasn’t alone.’ He stuttered hastily wiping his eyes. ‘Can I help you?’ Haru blinked back at him still frozen by the man’s eyes. He should duck under the water and flee as fast as he could, which was pretty damned fast even for a merman, but he didn’t. The human seemed to think he was one of his own kind and Haru decided he might as well resign to his fate. He’d been watching the man for a long time now; he couldn’t miss this one chance to speak with him and satisfy his curiosity. He hadn’t spoken in a while; especially not human but he knew it well enough. He cleared his throat.

‘Why are you sad?’ he demanded. The other man looked at him surprised.

‘Huh? Oh no, I’m not sad...wait, how did you swim out this far?’ he replied looking from Haru to the beach in the distance. Haru raised an eyebrow and didn’t answer instead just flipping his tail, catching the other boy’s eyes. His mouth fell open.

‘Why are you sad?’ Haru insisted irritably.

‘I…I’m…are you a mermaid?’ the other man squeaked out. Haru sighed. He didn’t know much about the intelligence of humans – he’d assumed it was on par with merpeople – but this one seemed pretty dumb.

‘Merman. You were crying.’ Green eyes blinked hard.

‘Right, I think I must be dreaming but It’s been a long day so…Hi, I’m Makoto’ he held out his hand. Haru stared at it.

‘Hi Makoto, I’m Haru. Tell me.’ He was getting quite impatient now but he still couldn’t find it in him to leave without knowing why Makoto was crying.

‘Erm ok. So I’m a fireman’ Seeing Haru’s blank stare he carried on ‘so that means I fight fires? Save people from buildings and stuff? Never mind, it’s just today, there was a house-fire, a family with three children… and the mother didn’t make it. We couldn’t save her in time.’ He sighed deeply, tears forming in the corner of his eyes again. ‘I mean, I knew my job was dangerous but I just feel like I failed you know?’

Haru couldn’t say he understood; he really didn’t know what a fireman was, but he did understand that death was a big deal to humans if they cared a lot about people, even strangers evidently. He now wasn’t sure whether he was happy he’d revealed himself now, he was completely unable to help. He watched the green eyes sparkling with tears again and the defeated body language of the man in front of him. He could just dip his head back into the water, swim away and forget his foray with caring but he found himself compelled to stay. He thought hard.

‘Do you want to swim?’ he offered.

‘Huh?’

‘Swim. It makes me feel better.’ Haru murmured mentally hitting himself. He lives in the sea; all he does is swim however if Makoto noticed the stupidity of that statement, he made no mention of it. Instead a brief spasm of fear took over his handsome face.

‘I…I don’t really like swimming in the ocean and it’s pretty deep out here.’ He explained

‘But you’re here almost every day?’ Haru questioned.

‘I guess I’m trying to face a fear? I knew someone who drowned when I was younger but I do love the water, I’d love to be able to swim in it one day.’ Makoto confessed ‘Wait, have you been watching me?’ Haru turned away and blushed.

‘I…I could help if you want…make sure you don’t drown’ he ignored the last part; he was starting to really question just why he was so obsessed with this human and that was not something he wanted to think about right now.

‘Oh, thank you but I didn’t bring a swimsuit anyway’ he smiled.

‘Swimsuit?’

‘Hm? Yeah, humans have special clothes to get wet; we don’t have a tail.’ He smiled widely.

‘That’s weird.’ Haru looked back up confused. Not about the tail, but why humans felt the need to wear clothes in the ocean. ‘Just come in.’ Makoto had been gazing out to the ocean contemplatively until the last demand when he turned around to answer and his eyes met Haru’s. He looked almost shocked and Haru had no idea what he’d seen but the next thing he knew, Makoto was removing his clothes.

‘Ok then.’ He stripped down to just a thin layer of clothing on the lower half of his body and lowered himself down into the water. He kicked off the rocks and swam off laughing. Haru blinked but quickly followed after him.

*             *             *

Makoto had no idea what he was thinking. It had been a long, hard day at work – true, but to just strip down and jump in the ocean with a mermaid?

‘Merman’ he mentally corrected himself flicking his gaze over to the perfectly flat chest and stomach of the creature still clinging to the rocks. He must be going absolutely mad… or possibly having some really obscure wet dream, but this was definitely not reality. If it was he definitely would not be swimming in the deep, dark ocean that routinely plagued his nightmares like it was nothing. And yet, it felt so cold, so real lapping at his shoulders as he moved through the water. And it hit him. This was reality and he was swimming in the deep, dark ocean that routinely plagued his nightmares with some beautiful sea creature that could easily drown him and nobody would know where he had gone….

He froze. The cold water felt like it was closing in around him; its iciness attacking his muscles until he couldn’t move. He gasped and pulled in a mouthful of water that he promptly choked out. He knew on some level that he was strong and fast enough to swim the short distance back to the rocks but the terror was taking over and he felt numb. This would be it.

He was so consumed in his panic that he hadn’t noticed the merman swimming towards him; hadn’t felt his initial touch of his arm and only acknowledged the others presence when he felt himself lifted ever so slightly out of the water. He breathed in deep and managed to only take in air this time, he snapped his head around to look at his saviour and instantly the breath was stolen from him again. He was faced with the most beautiful blue eyes he’d ever seen; he’d been stunned when he saw them earlier but nothing could match seeing them this close. He stared. It was rude, he should be thanking him but just like the terror had taken over moments earlier, he felt a newer, stranger feeling spread through his body instead and this time he was frozen in a far more pleasant way than before.

The merman before him raised an eyebrow questioningly and somehow Makoto knew he was silly to think that this creature would drown him. He wasn’t sure he would even care if that’s what the creature had planned on doing but it was evident this man was nothing but sincere.

‘I’m fine’ he breathed out answering the unasked question shaking himself out of his reverie. ‘I’m fine, really, sorry.’ The other looked at him.

‘Good. Let’s swim’ he answered before letting go of his arm and swimming off. Makoto laughed lightly and followed trying to ignore the tingling sensation the other’s touch left on his skin.

*             *             *

 

And so it became a habit that Makoto would swim with Haru. After his initial panic in the ocean; he seemed fine, content even, in the water. And he seemed to trust that the merman would help him if something went wrong. It had taken him a surprisingly short amount of time to accept the existence of merpeople. The second time he came swimming and saw Haru’s tail; he seemed pretty shocked but soon stripped off and jumped in.

 Haru still wasn’t sure why he felt so compelled to spend time with the human every day though he had to admit that swimming with him was much more interesting than watching him. Haru wasn’t used to so much conversation but Makoto accepted that without question and just chatted happily along, content that Haru was listening. He was a good swimmer too, with strong muscles. He seemed to swim backstroke most often and Haru sometimes caught himself staring mesmerised.

He was doing that now; watching Makoto’s muscles flex with every movement in the water. He couldn’t understand why doing this made him feel so hot or why his heart jumped when Makoto would find him watching and catch his eyes. It was strange but not an unpleasant feeling. He knew he should question this more; that maybe he shouldn’t be spending so much time with a human but he didn’t want to face that yet. He was comfortable with company for the first time in his life and he wasn’t willing to throw that away just yet.

Makoto turned just then and caught Haru staring and Haru gasped; his heart jumping in his chest.  Makoto laughed and swam back toward him.

‘You were watching me again!’ he teased his green eyes sparkling with amusement. He always seemed to be amused by Haru though Haru could never work out why. Haru began swimming back to the rocks as an excuse to break eye contact and to hide the blush now on his cheeks. The blushing was new too and he couldn’t recall if he had ever blushed in his underwater existence before meeting Makoto.

‘I like your swimming.’ He muttered as they reached the rocks. He swivelled round and rested his head on the lowest rock, his tail floating to the surface.

‘I don’t know why; it’s nothing compared to how you swim. It’s so beautiful watching you.’ Makoto confessed moving to grab the rocks beside Haru’s head. Haru noticed how close he was and his heart, which he had just managed to calm down, picked up its incessant banging against his ribcage yet again.

‘Idiot.’ He pouted feeling his cheeks blush _again_. What was this human doing to him? And suddenly Makoto was looming above him. He let out a laugh.

‘You’re so cute when you blush’ he moved his hand to Haru’s cheek. Haru’s gaze widened and he blushed harder. This time Makoto blushed too; a vibrant tomato red, his eyes wide open and mortified. He pulled away sharply. ‘I should probably go have dinner. See you tomorrow Haru.’ He rushed out before clambering up on the rocks, grabbing his clothes and walking away as fast as he could.

Haru nodded as if Makoto could still see him and dived deep into the ocean trying to work out why he felt so _hot._

*             *             *

Makoto admonished himself all the way home.

‘Cute?’ he whispered to himself ‘who calls another grown man cute out of the blue? He probably thinks you’re really strange now.’ Makoto had been out of the closet for a while now and had a couple of boyfriends at university and after but it still wasn’t considered the most normal of things in Japan and he didn’t even know if Haru was gay. He didn’t even know if merpeople had a concept of sexuality. And even if they did he definitely should not be hitting on someone of a completely different species!

His life was really quite strange right now. He’d been so upset that first day he’d met Haru but the boy had managed to make him forget everything, even completely smashing the fear he himself had been trying to conquer for years, never mind alerting him to the fact that mermaids existed in the first place. It still astonished him sometimes to see that beautiful tail flicking in the sunlight. Ridiculous as it was, Makoto was very aware that he was harbouring an intense crush on the other man. He’d acknowledged his attractiveness at first meeting, of course, but the more he watched him swim, heard him speak… He couldn’t help but feel that there was a deeper connection there. He wasn’t a stupid person however, and he realised that he could never really truly have a relationship with a creature of the sea. He was sure it crossed some sort of moral code for one thing, but also to never truly be able to live together, to wake up together, and to go on dates? It would be too much to bear he knew and he planned on keeping his feelings to himself indefinitely.

Of course, he hadn’t counted on sticking his massive foot in his mouth. And touching him, he’d almost forgotten about the touching. He groaned to himself. He was a fool for sure, and Haru would know that now. Still, he decided as he unlocked the door to his apartment, he would go back. He would keep swimming and indulging his sad little heart until Haru grew tired of him. It was bound to happen and he would just have to make the most of their time together until it did.

*             *             *

The next time they saw each other it was like it never happened. Makoto was his normal cheery self and Haru went with the flow like he always did. But as Makoto heaved himself onto the rocks and waved goodbye, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed that he hadn’t been touched.

He dived into the sea, contemplating his feelings as he swam. Maybe it was time to really think about these strange feelings he’d been having around the human. Makoto made him happy. Makoto made him feel hot and bothered and like his heart would never calm down. He sometimes felt a deep lurching feeling in his stomach which should have been unpleasant but for some reason wasn’t. He saw Makoto every day but had yet to get sick of him. He was starting to wonder if he could be in love.

He was in trouble regardless. How could even a friendship between a merman and a human last? They were separated by their species. Haru had no legs and humans could not survive for too long in the water. This was unchangeable fact.

These thoughts troubled him all the way to the vague sea area he called home; so much so that he almost didn’t notice the red-headed merman waiting for him.

‘There you are, I’ve been waiting ages!’ he called out. Haru snapped out of his inner monologue and focussed on the man in front of him.

‘Rin.’ He said simply. Rin was his childhood best friend. Merchildren were much friendlier than adults; before they have to fight for mates, food and territory and it wasn’t uncommon to have a close friend. Many lost theirs by the time they matured but Haru and Rin had remained friendly even though visits tended to happen once or twice a year instead of being joined at the hip. Haru wasn’t particularly happy to see him though; not whilst he had these thoughts of Makoto whirling around his mind. Rin had mated a few years ago to a merman whom Haru hated and Rin would not stop talking about. He didn’t really want to think about love right now.

‘Yo, what’s up with you?’ Rin growled coming nearer and clapping a hand on his shoulder. Haru ignored him choosing to swim off instead. ‘Hey come back!’

‘Mackerel’ is all Haru replied and Rin groaned.

‘That’s all you eat!’ Haru looked at him. ‘Fine.’  And they raced off to look for their prey.

Several hours later they were relaxing near some coral eating the mackerel Haru caught. Rin had already chewed his ear off about his life, sea-life rumours and of course Sousuke. Sousuke was Rin’s favourite subject despite knowing Haru’s feelings about him and whilst Haru would normally try and issue a challenge or something to try and distract Rin, his head was still full of Makoto and the implications of falling in love with a human. And just like he was reading his mind, Rin nudged him and said;

‘So when are you going to look for a mate?’  He smirked showing off all of his ridiculously pointy teeth. Mythology claimed that all mermaids descended from the bonds of a human and sea creature; Haru often felt that if this was true Rin most definitely descended from sharks. Haru, however, was sure his ancestors were dolphins. ‘It’s about time you start thinking about spreading your genes about. We’re an endangered species, y’know.’  Haru blushed and turned away. He really didn’t need to be thinking about _that_ right now. Besides, Rin couldn’t really talk; he and Sousuke had still not attempted to reproduce though several mating seasons had come and passed since they’d been together. Haru snorted and told him so.

‘Hey!’ he exclaimed blushing as red as Haru before turning again. ‘We’re thinking about trying next season actually…’ he confessed quietly. ‘We weren’t ready before.’

‘So you’ve not had sex yet?’  Haru questioned earning him a whack to the head.

‘What kind of question is that?!’ Rin shouted ‘Of course we have! Just not in a way that would get me pregnant.’ Haru frowned in concentration. His knowledge of such things was admittedly limited. He knew males could get pregnant but not the mechanics of it all. Homosexual mates weren’t exactly penalised amongst their kind but they were definitely rarer and many parents only told their offspring about reproduction between a male and a female. Haru’s parents had definitely fallen into this category only briefly explaining the mechanics of sex and mating season; they’d definitely never mentioned the fact that couples would sometimes have sex for pleasure although he knew that many merpeople did.

‘Is it fun?’ he questioned without thinking.

‘Haru!’ Rin blustered cheeks burning the colour of his hair looking fit to burst. However, he turned his face away and muttered ‘yeah’

‘Oh’ Haru tried to process this answer. It wasn’t easy for merpeople to mate. They went through heat as plenty of animals do but to actually mate they had to rise to the surface and wait for their tails to dry out and mate as humans do. They then had a grace period in which they could stay out of the water before they dried up completely. It was a dangerous activity and it was no wonder that their species was becoming endangered. He guessed it really must feel good if merpeople were willing to risk it again and again even without creating a child out of it. And naturally the thought came to him of doing it with Makoto. He blushed. He had not seen Makoto without the obligatory clothing covering his reproductive parts and the idea caused a strangely warm sensation in his stomach. He definitely knew now how much he liked to be touched by the other man; surely it would be amazing to be that close to him; to feel that pleasure with him? It was however shamed by his kind to mate with another. Once a mate had died, it was more than common for the partner to just fade away with them. Nobody re-mated; nobody had more than one partner. To give himself to a human was to give his life away.  It would not be beneficial to dwell on it. Makoto must be a friend and nothing else.

‘Hey, why you asking anyway? You found someone?’ Rin questioned with a shit-eating grin on his face.  Haru immediately snapped out of his daydream and glared at his companion.

‘I’m going to sleep.’ Was the only answer he would dignify him with.

Rin evidently decided he was going to sleep over as Haru awoke to find him lying on a ridge not too far from him. He sighed, hoping he would be gone by evening time so he could find Makoto in peace.

Sadly that was not to be the case and no matter how much Haru tried to make him leave he insisted he was staying to catch up.  It soon came around to the usual time to meet Makoto and Haru still hadn’t shaken him off. He could have just missed a day he guessed; Makoto wasn’t always there depending on his shift and there was no real way of contacting each other. Yet, somehow the thought of Makoto being there waiting for him and Haru not turning up made his stomach churn with guilt. What if he thought that Haru had got bored and swam off elsewhere? No, he couldn’t make him wait. He would just have to get rid of Rin somehow.

Several more attempts to get him to go and Haru was resorting to begging.

‘Please, just leave.’ He demanded.

‘I came all the way to this side of the ocean to see you and you can’t wait for me to fucking leave! I mean we haven’t seen each other in months. I don’t know why I bother really.’

‘Rin please.’ And he looked at him; his eyes imploring him to read the seriousness in them. He wasn’t great at talking and apparently he wasn’t overly expressive either. Somehow Makoto got him though. Somehow Makoto knew what he was thinking. Rin looked at him calculatedly.

‘Why?’ he asked one more time.

‘I just have something to do.’ Haru said glancing the other way. He didn’t want Rin to be able to read him too much when it came to this.

‘Fine. But you’d better get your ass over to mine and Sousuke’s next time. I don’t care if you two fight all the bloody time.’ And he was gone.

And finally Haru was free to go see Makoto. He swam through swiftly, a certain amount of joy in his stroke. It shouldn’t be such a big deal, he told himself, though he couldn’t really ignore the heavy thumping in his chest the closer he got to the other man.  He was so caught up in not getting lost in his feelings that he didn’t notice the red-head following silently a few strokes behind.

                                                     *             *             *

Makoto lazed in the sun on the rocks, already in his swimsuit. He may have resigned himself to having a crush he could never act on but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy his time with Haru. He was sure a merman would get sick of him at some point and stop coming so he should really enjoy the time they had right now. He was feeling pretty at peace with it all to be honest.

The weather might have had some say in it; the summer heat wasn’t stifling for once and whilst he was looking forward to jumping into the sea; he was perfectly comfortable just sat on the rocks. He lifted his head lazily to look out at the waves. The surface was clear right now but Haru should be there soon.

He forced himself into a sitting position to make sure he got a glimpse of Haru as soon as he arrived. He loved the way the merman glided through the water so effortlessly and he took any chance he could to watch him. This maybe wasn’t the best method of getting over somebody but he couldn’t help but torture himself with how god-damned gorgeous the other was.

He didn’t have to wait long. In all his day-dreaming he’d actually missed Haru’s approach and was once again gazing into strikingly blue eyes.

‘Good afternoon Haru’ he greeted cheerfully feeling the grin stretch across his face. Haru smiled slightly back. His expressions were always much subtler than Makoto’s and he loved to try and figure out what each of them meant. Haru opened his mouth to speak when a large splash of water attacked the rocks.

Makoto jumped out of the way and looked up to see fire-red angry eyes glaring at him, a flashing red tail flicking in his peripheral vision. Another merman; he had no idea whether other merpeople were friendly towards human or not but it was clear to anyone that this one was extremely pissed off.

‘What the actual fuck Haru!’ The stranger shouted.

 ‘Rin!’ Haru called back seemingly just as frozen as Makoto.

‘You dumped me for a fucking human, Haru! Do you have any idea how dangerous they are?’ and he bared his teeth at Makoto as if to ward him off. It worked. Rin’s teeth weren’t human like the rest of his face. They were extremely pointed, shark-like, Makoto thought with a twinge of terror as he backed up further onto the rocks. He would have run away completely if he didn’t want to check that Haru was safe.

‘I…I don’t mean any harm…’ he stammered out. Rin just growled.

‘Don’t you dare talk to me human!’ he seethed.

‘Rin, don’t talk to him like that.’  Haru butted in moving to pull his friend back from the rocks. Rin turned to look at Haru his eyes still blazing. They stared each other out for several minutes. Then Rin let out a growl and disappeared beneath the surface.

Haru turned to look at Makoto who was still watching the scene in fear. He shook himself out of it when he noticed Haru staring.

‘Do…do you want to go after him?’ he questioned. Haru opened his mouth and looked anguished as if not sure what to say.

‘He’s all I have.’ He said slowly and sadly.

‘Then go, go talk to him.’ Makoto grinned ignoring the twisting sick-y feeling in his gut at Haru’s words. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’ Haru looked at him as if making sure Makoto was sure. ‘Honestly go, Haru!’ He reassured. And with a final nod. Haru too disappeared beneath the surface leaving Makoto standing on the rocks alone, attempting to figure out what had just happened and why he felt like his heart might just be breaking.

*             *             *

Haru swam as fast as he could after Rin. Rin was fast but Haru knew that he wouldn’t go too far no matter how angry he was.  And sure enough he was only a few strokes away sulking around some sea weed.

‘Rin.’ Haru greeted. Rin immediately moved from where he was to grab Haru’s arms; his face a mere inch away.

‘What the fuck are you playing at?’ he demanded ‘that was a human! A human, Haru, you know what they’re like! Do you want to end up being experimented on in some sort of lab?’

‘Makoto’s not like that!’ Haru argued ‘He wouldn’t hurt me!’

‘And how do you know that? How long have you been seeing the guy?’ Haru blinked. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been swimming with Makoto. It was at least a month he was sure. ‘Jeez, is this why you’re interested in this mating stuff all of a sudden; are you in love with him or something?’ Haru flinched at the words actually being said out loud and he suddenly felt all-too-warm again and wanted to retreat. He turned to swim but Rin gripped his arm so he had to stay. ‘Wait, are you?’ He asked a bit calmer this time. Haru squirmed and looked away. He didn’t want to answer that. He’d been trying all this time to shove these thoughts deep, deep down so that he wouldn’t have to accept it. He didn’t want to talk about it with Rin. However, he couldn’t loosen the grip on his arm and had to settle with turning his face away.

‘I don’t know.’ He whispered. Rin let go of his arm.

‘Oh Haru!’ he moaned ‘why do you always have to do things the hard way?’ Haru could have swum away but there was a new feeling in his bones; an ache, deep and sad.  Having his feelings acknowledged out loud just drove home the fact that what was going on was difficult. He couldn’t mate with a human; he couldn’t ever be with Makoto; he would either have to find some random merperson to have children with or he would die alone. It occurred to him that the thought of being alone forever had never bothered him before, he’d welcomed it even. He guessed that now he had had a taste of what true companionship could be like, he wasn’t quite ready to let it go.

‘What does it matter?’ He muttered despondently.  ‘We can’t ever be together.’ Rin studied him carefully. Haru couldn’t recall them ever having to have a serious discussion about anything before. They had talked about Rin’s problems sure, but Rin’s problems had been pretty straightforward. There had been a lot of mourning about whether Sousuke had liked him back; a lot of analysing the other’s intentions and when they had gotten together, whether he was ‘the one’ to mate with. As it was the answer to all of these questions was solved by the obvious fact that Sousuke was besotted with Rin from the first time they met. Haru was pretty certain that half of the reason Sousuke hated him was that he had initially thought that Haru and Rin were together. The life of a merperson was a fairly simple one; most of the problems revolved around food supplies, dangerous creatures and finding a mate to keep their race alive. Haru’s issue, however, seemed to not be so simple to solve. He turned to meet Rin’s gaze to find him looking at him with a guarded expression on his face.

‘That’s… That’s not necessarily true…’ Rin spoke up hesitantly. Haru looked at him strangely.

‘What?’

‘It’s… Jeez, I don’t really know if I should be telling you this. There are rumours; legends I guess would be more accurate that say that humans and merpeople have mated before. I mean, it’s really dangerous though and I don’t know whether it’s true,  it’s something my Dad used to tell me about before he died. You know he was always interested in the surface-dwellers and stuff.’ He jabbered on. Haru looked at him shocked.

‘So I could mate with Makoto?’ He asked tentatively. Rin ran his hand through his hair frustrated.

‘Maybe? I don’t know Haru, do you really love him? I don’t know that I want to lose you.’

‘I do.’ He confessed ‘I don’t think I’ve felt like this about anyone before. He makes me feel things.’ He added vaguely.

‘Things, eh?’ Rin smiled wanly at him. ‘I guess he must be special if you actively seek out his company. I normally have to force you to spend time with me.’  Haru glared at him weakly. ‘Well, don’t go rushing into it ok? You know if you do it, you can’t come back…ever. You’ll have to become a human.’  Haru nodded. He wasn’t sure he was ready to leave his ocean life but he couldn’t deny that he had felt a great deal lighter in himself knowing that, should he want to, he could be with Makoto forever. He didn’t even know if Makoto felt the same way.  He shook off these thoughts. He would deal with them when they came to it.

‘So what would I need to do?’ He asked.

‘Mate with him come mating season and stay out of the water until sunrise.’ Rin instructed. ‘Or that’s what my dad told me.’ Haru swallowed quickly and choked on his tongue. He hadn’t heard of a merperson staying out of the water that long before; normally you did the deed and got straight back in the water or risk death from dehydration.

‘Will I survive that long?’ He asked. Much to his discomfort, Rin just shrugged.

‘If you mate properly you should be fine. Legend says that men who mate with human women are more likely to perish than men with men, or mermaids with men. If you have, um… his seed, I guess, inside of you, you should be protected. This is all hearsay though Haru, I don’t know for sure that it works.’ He explained. Haru nodded. Mating season had just passed; he had time to consider the ramifications before the next one came around. He didn’t quite understand what Rin meant about some things though.

‘And how exactly do I get his seed in me?’ He asked seriously. Rin choked and his skin turned an interesting shade of purple.

‘Fuck, Haru. Did your parents not explain mating to you?’ he spluttered out.

‘They did between men and women, but I’ll be a man. I won’t have a vagina.’ He stated innocently enough. He didn’t really understand what the big deal was.

‘Um, humans have another hole. That’s all I’m saying. I’m sure – Makoto was it? – will know what he’s doing. You do realise humans don’t always mate for life right? He could have had multiple partners before and he might want partners after.’ He warned. Haru was aware: just another issue they would have to talk about. He felt prepared for the decision though and was pondering a long swim to try and get his head around it.

‘Well, all this talking about mating has made me want to go find Sou, so if you don’t mind I’ll be off.’ He offered with a wink ‘and if you do decide to go through with it Haru, let me know? I want to meet the guy who’s stealing you away properly.’ And with a sad smile he left. Haru took off in the opposite direction.  He had some decisions to make.

                                                     *             *             *

Makoto couldn’t recall a time he had felt this bad. He’d had relationships before; he’d had horrible drawn-out break-ups before. Yet He’d never ever felt as heartbroken as he did right now. The thought of returning to his empty apartment and thinking about Haru and Rin suddenly felt like way too much right now. He didn’t want to be alone. It had been his day off today so thankfully he wasn’t covered in soot. Checking his reflection briefly in a shop window, he deemed his appearance acceptable and headed towards the train station.

He’d previously turned down an invitation to go out for dinner and drinks tonight. His friend Nagisa had asked him to join he and his boyfriend for the evening, and whilst Makoto pondered the wisdom of spending the night with a happy established couple whilst his own love life was such a mess right now, he figured some drinks and company would still be preferable. He sent Nagisa a quick text on his way to make sure the invitation was still open. He didn’t want to end up crashing a date. However, Nagisa sent him a text back telling him that of course he was welcome with a whole load of emojis whilst Makoto was getting on the train and he felt at least a little bit of tension leave his body.

And when he finally arrived at his destination and was jumped on by a huge bundle of blond, he felt all of the tension leave his body. Unfortunately this was not a good thing. He felt so tired; he could barely keep himself upright. He felt himself slip with Nagisa in his arms.

‘Whoa, Mako-chan!’ Nagisa called helping to set him straight and peering into his face. ‘You look awful Mako-chan!’

‘Nagisa!’ Rei scolded suddenly popping up beside him. Makoto turned his eyes to him blearily. ‘But you don’t look very good Makoto-Senpai, are you sick?’ Makoto shook his head.

‘Drink?’ he asked. Nagisa nodded and pulled him into the booth, thrusting a pink cocktail at him. Makoto took it gratefully sipping it down. It was ridiculously sugary but he could taste the rum in it and that’s all that mattered to him right now. He was never really one for drinking. Some situations seem to call for it though, and falling in love with a merman who may be in love with someone else definitely seems to fit the bill this time. Rei helpfully reappeared with another tray of drinks and Makoto drained the cocktail in his hand and instantly reached for another one.

‘So spill it Mako-chan, what’s up?’ Nagisa looked at him his eyes shining with concern. Makoto paused in his drinking. He couldn’t really share the whole problem. He was confident that Nagisa would be excited about a mermaid lover and that Rei would adamantly deny that such a creature could exist which wasn’t the issue he really wanted to go into right now.

‘It’s nothing. I’m just tired from working so much.’ He demurred with a sad smile ‘don’t worry about it. How are things with you?’ He kept drinking. Nagisa and Rei however were sharing a look and Makoto knew he had been unsuccessful.

‘Mako-chan.’ Nagisa moaned with a headbutt. ‘Talk to us. Is this about the guy you’ve been spending all your time with?’ Makoto choked on his drink

‘What?’ he spluttered out after he stopped coughing.

‘Well, you never hang out with us anymore; you always say you’re at the beach. We assumed it was some guy.’ Nagisa explained as if was obvious. Rei nodded beside him pushing his red glasses further up his nose.

‘It’s true Makoto-Senpai. You have been rather busy lately.’ Makoto stared at them in shock. He had not been aware that he was being that obvious though he guessed he had been to see Haru every day he hadn’t been working. He really did have it bad it seems. His friends looked at him with twin knowing looks on their faces and he figured he wouldn’t be able to deny it. A half-truth would have to suffice then; maybe they would be able to help although knowing Nagisa that seemed unlikely really. He sighed and put his head in his hands.

‘Fine. There’s a guy.’ He confessed defeated.

‘Haha, I knew it!’ Nagisa crowed. ‘Tell us everything, Mako-chan.’ Makoto took a deep drink. He wasn’t a great liar so he opted to stay as close to the truth as possible.

‘We met down at the beach a couple of months ago and erm; we’ve been hanging out, swimming and stuff.’ He volunteered timidly. Nagisa gaped at him.

‘Like in the ocean?’ Makoto blushed realising just how much he’d been hiding from his friends.

‘Yeah. But anyway, we’ve been hanging out is all. But I…I guess I kind of like him?’ he confessed questioningly. Nagisa let out a teasing whistle.

‘Is he hot?’

‘Nagisa!’ Rei scolded once more ‘There must be more to the story, you seem pretty upset Makoto -senpai…’ He urged.

‘Yeah, I mean.’ He swallowed more of his drink. ‘Like I said, we’ve just been hanging out. I don’t even know if he’s gay or anything but today this other me…um, man, like followed him? He started shouting at me to leave Haru alone and stuff. I think it might have been a boyfriend.’ His voice broke on the last word. This was the thought he had been trying to avoid with the drink. All this time spent with Haru—he couldn’t bear the thought that he had been loving someone else this whole time. He knew all too well that he shouldn’t be in love with the boy anyway but this final nail in the coffin hurt way too much. More than this he knew what he had to do now. He really didn’t want to though.

‘Oh poor Mako-chan. What did Haru -was it? -do then?’ Makoto raised his eyes to his friends.

‘The guy left and Haru followed him.’  Nagisa winced. Makoto smashed his head down on the table. ‘Fuck my life’ he muttered.

‘Makoto-Senpai!’ Rei called appalled whilst Nagisa let out a shout of laughter. Makoto raised his face slightly and offered a sheepish grin. True, he didn’t normally curse but hey, he’d had a bad day and he was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol seep into his brain.

‘Anyways, Haru-chan didn’t actually say he was his boyfriend though did he? I wouldn’t give up so easy Mako-chan.’ Nagisa reassured. Makoto groaned.

‘You didn’t see the way he looked at him, Nagisa. He seemed so distraught.’ And he had. What other explanation was there? He’d just seemed so lost. And he said that Rin was all he had, but he had Makoto didn’t he? He also didn’t really know a whole lot about Haru’s life. He felt like he could read the other so easily, but was that really worth that much if he didn’t even know whether he had a life partner or not? He was starting to feel quite misguided and disillusioned by the whole thing. He should walk away. That would be the sanest option, to leave this whole thing behind him. But he couldn’t bear the thought.

Haru had dug his way into Makoto’s subconscious and he thought about him all the time. When he was working, he couldn’t wait to get to the sea to talk to him, to touch him, to swim with him. He thought about the way his bright blue eyes shone or dimmed with his mood, or his lips would twitch upwards when he was amused whether he wanted them to or not. He was consumed by the other man and no other person had ever, ever had this effect on him and the idea that this might not be returned, made his stomach, his heart, twist and clench and his whole body ache with wanting. He never knew he could feel like this. His other relationships seemed superficial and fleeting compared to this feeling. He felt like a teenager again completely lost in his first crush. But this was not the way Haru felt about him. This was the way that Haru felt about that red-haired merman. 

‘I wonder’ Rei began, stroking his chin in his thinking pose ‘I wonder whether Haru could have been distraught that you were found out. Maybe he hadn’t told his friends about you. You didn’t tell us after all you might have acted the same if Nagisa or I caught you’ Makoto raised his eyebrow disbelievingly. That seemed a farfetched theory. He grabbed another drink and idly sucked on the straw.

‘Yeah, that could be it, Mako-chan!’ Nagisa agreed excitedly. ‘Either way, if you love him you need to speak to him, when are you next seeing him?’ Makoto sighed letting the straw slip from his lips.

‘Tomorrow I suppo…wait, what did you say? I never said I loved him’ He choked out once more.

‘Oh, Mako-chan. He made you swim in the ocean. You’ve got it bad.’ Makoto gaped and turned his gaze to his blue-haired friend, the more logical one expecting to share an exasperated look. Instead he looked smug.

‘Nagisa may be onto something you know. No one has ever made you feel ok in the ocean before.’ Makoto continued to gape. He guessed that was true. It was hard to recall now the extreme terror he used to feel sitting on those rocks every day, thinking of being amongst the waves, of being crushed by them. Haru had changed that. He didn’t feel it when he was with him. The water was Haru’s home and Haru would protect him; would never let him drown. He knew that. And when he looked out at the sea now, all he could see were blue eyes, could feel the others body always close to his, the ethereal beauty of his tail sparkling in the sunlight. The water was no longer something to fear. Maybe this was love. Had he been in love before? He had thought so, but nothing had ever beat so harshly in his body before, he had never felt longing so strong that his veins hurt before, had ever felt quite so lost.

‘Well, fuck’ and he smashed his head back on the table. Nagisa giggled.

‘No one has ever made you swear so much before either’ Rei commented drily.

‘I actually blame the cocktails for that one’ Makoto muttered into his arms before dragging his head up to rest his chin on his hands. ‘So what do I do?’

‘Talk to him.’ Rei stated firmly. ‘If he cares for you then you have nothing to lose and if he does not, you need to cut all contact.’

‘Oh Rei-chan that’s so cold! He’d be crazy to turn down someone as gorgeous as Mako-chan’ He grinned lecherously at his friend. Makoto huffed.

‘Thanks Nagisa, but I’m nothing compared to Haru, he’s beautiful.’ He mourned for a moment. Then he slammed his hand down on the table. ‘Yes, I will speak to him and sort this out.’ The alcohol had considerably strengthened his resolve. Rei was right. He needed to clarify things. It wasn’t fair on either of them to just assume things and if Haru really was with someone else; he needed to start distancing himself. He probably should do that any way. There was no real way to work around the different species issue.

‘Yeah, you go Mako-chan.’ Nagisa cheered. Makoto smiled.

‘What’s been going on with you guys anyway? I have been pretty distant.’ He asked leaning back. Nagisa began babbling about something that Rei did on their last date which made Rei splutter and blush and Makoto relaxed. It would be fine. He had his friends at least. If he had to draw back from Haru, at least he had some good people to draw him back into the human world.

*             *             *

                                                                                                                                                                                   

The next afternoon, Haru found Makoto standing in the same old place staring thoughtfully into the waves. As usual he hadn’t noticed the merman’s approach and Haru took the opportunity to gaze at the other man. They had to make some serious decisions now and he wanted to soak up as much of the man as possible in case things went wrong. The tall man’s hair was ruffled and rumpled even though the air was calm, his face was clean and he appeared to only be wearing his swimsuit which suggested that he had not been at work. His green eyes seemed brighter than normal, more focussed and distinct from his tanned face and Haru couldn’t help but think this is what he would miss most about the other man should he turn away or be disgusted. His shoulders were broad and strong in perfect proportion to his arms and chest and Haru wished he could just reach out touch him; that it wouldn’t be such a big deal.

Rin and Sousuke used to touch all the time, hugging, wrestling, casual lingering touches that nobody thought anything of. But this situation was difficult and life-changing. Haru had no idea who he was trying to fool before by denying that he was in love with Makoto. He was completely enchanted by everything he knew about the man and he wanted to know more, he wanted to be drawn into those big warms arms and held for all eternity. He would give up the sea; he would give up everything to be with him. He had never craved company before from anyone. He never knew how much he could feel before. And now he had, he didn’t want to give it up to a life of apathy and boredom. This feeling inside him was amazing, he felt like he could burst with this strange emotion that clawed at his lungs, that was trying to make his way out. He wanted to laugh or cry or scream or something to get these feelings out of his body.

‘Makoto…’ he whispered treasuring the syllables on his tongue even as the feelings inside him turned to dread and he shivered though the summer sunshine was infinitely warmer than the sea below. This was the most important decision of his life and he had no idea what Makoto would think of Haru becoming human for him. He had no idea if Makoto even liked him that way, let alone could love him the rest of his life. Rin’s words about humans not mating for life echoed in his head and he knew that there was a chance that they could go through with this and Makoto would get bored of him. Yet somehow, he couldn’t help but trust the other man. What they had was special, it had to be and there was no way he wasn’t going to take the chance no matter how terrifying the prospect was. And if he was wrong, if it was all about to crash and burn in front of him, then the sooner the better. The sooner he could resign himself to his previous life and move on. ‘Makoto.’ He stated a bit firmer and those beautiful green eyes turned to meet his again.

‘Haru!’ The voice returned and he thought that he could hear a little bit of relief in his tone. Had he thought Haru wouldn’t turn up? The man hastily dropped down as if to dive from the rocks but Haru quickly made a gesture to stop. They had a long conversation ahead of them and Makoto couldn’t tread water without losing energy. Instead Haru closed the distance between him and the rocks and made to pull himself up. He fumbled slightly; it had been a long time since he had had to leave the water and he was infinitely less graceful on land. Makoto had been staring at him confused but upon realising Haru’s intentions he held out his hand and pulled him up.

Haru settled himself so that they were sitting side by side on the rocks, his tail just grazing the surface of the sea. His side was pressed against the stretchy material on Makoto’s legs and he thought for a moment about what it would be like to have legs of his own.  To swing them back and forth, to flex his toes like Makoto was doing now. Would they be as dark as Makoto’s skin? Or would they be paler? His skin tone seemed whiter right now but he understood this to be a result of not being in the sun. For that matter, apart from a quick flash that first day, he’d only ever seen Makoto with his legs covered, were they even as dark as the rest of his body? Were they hairless like his chest or was he covered in light brown hairs like the ones on his arms? He was so caught up in studying him he hadn’t noticed the scrutiny from the other.

Makoto’s gaze now seemed to be focussed on Haru’s midriff, right where his chest met his scales. Was Makoto wondering the same thing? Wondering what he would do if Haru was human? Would they go as slow or would Makoto have kissed him by now? Declared his feelings? Could they be a normal human couple sat at the beach together, lying in each other’s arms? Was he thinking about how easy it would be to interlock their bodies, if only Haru had legs?

Makoto suddenly seemed to realise that he had been caught out as his head shot up and a blush spread across his cheeks. Despite the solemnity of the situation, Haru couldn’t help but smile at how cute Makoto could be. Makoto grinned back before exhaling loudly and running his hand through his hair.

‘Oh, Haru, we really need to talk about us.’ His smile wavered and his voice was serious but Haru just nodded. That was what he had spent his whole night preparing for after all. ‘So I guess, I really just wanted to apologise.’ He started unsurely, staring at the rocks in front of him. ‘I didn’t realise that you were with someone, and I don’t want to ruin what you have.’ He paused and took a breath, seeming to steel himself before raising his eyes back to meet Haru’s. ‘I’m in love with you, Haru. And I know I have no right to be, and I know we would have been doomed from the start. But this is where I am and I… I don’t think I can bear to be around you loving somebody else and so… So I think it’s best we don’t see each other again.’

Haru vaguely heard the words but honestly, he felt like he was floating outside of his body. He had expected and anticipated rejection, not to be confessed to. He had built this moment up so much; it couldn’t be this easy surely?  And despite all of the planning he’d done whilst not sleeping the night before, all words died in his throat and all he could see was the man in front of him and all he could hear was his heart beating.

‘You love me?’ he choked out instead and he immediately regretted it. Makoto’s eyes dimmed and looked away and the man he loved stood up.

‘I’m really sorry. Goodbye, Haruka.’ And he went to walk away. And Haru felt his body return to him with a jolt of terror.

‘No, don’t go.’ He called desperately and the rest of Makoto’s words caught up with him. He thought he was with Rin, he thought he didn’t love him back. ‘Rin’s not my mate!’ He called back. His body shook even though the sun was scorching his skin, unused to being outside of the water for so long.  Makoto stopped at least.

‘Huh?’ Haru swallowed, he needed to get it right this time.

‘He’s not my mate, he’s a friend.’ He stared hard at Makoto needing him to realise how serious he was. ‘I love you.’ There was a flash of green and a scuffle and then there were hands on his shoulders and lips on his own.

Makoto was kissing him. Hot wet lips moved urgently against his own; it took Haru a second to catch up with the situation and then he returned the kiss; pushing his own lips back just as urgently trying to mimic the movement, having never done this before. He didn’t know how something could feel so soft and tender and so hard and passionate all at the same time, and he didn’t know how having somebody else’s lips on his could cause a tingling sensation that went right through his body.  And then Makoto’s mouth was open and there was a tongue probing the inside of his mouth. Haru let him do as he pleased, wondering how someone so sweet and cute could be so dominant. But he let the other lead, completely lost in the sensation, lost in Makoto.

But all good things come to an end and soon Makoto was pulling away, a dazzling smile on his face, somehow brighter than any of the many Haru had seen before and he felt his own lips turning upwards so naturally in response. Makoto was still close and they were breathing in the same air, he could smell his scent, clean and distinctly human and his lips were still tingling from the others being so close.  And then the green eyes widened and were pulled away in shock.

‘Oh no. Haru, you’re a merman, I’m a human…’ Makoto began panicked. Haru saw another attempt at a goodbye coming and decided to head it off.

‘I don’t have to be’ He murmured silently urging the other to come closer again; he tentatively lifted his hand to move the other’s hair out of their eyes and leant closer. Makoto didn’t move but his eyes dropped to the other’s mouth.

‘What do you mean?’ Haru was distracted but his mind was gently reminding him how important his words had to be today and he pulled back slightly to face the other properly.

‘Rin said I could be human. If you want me to be?’ He asked hesitantly. He may have had a love confession but this was a huge step regardless. Makoto kissed him again, quick and hard.

‘God yes. But, do you want to be human? Wouldn’t you have to give up the ocean?’ He asked worriedly.

‘I could still swim. I won’t be able to live here anymore’ Makoto looked like he was going to interrupt but Haru shot him a hard look. ‘I have nothing in the water. No family. I have Rin but he understands. I want you.’ Makoto’s eyes relaxed briefly but the concerned look returned just as quickly.

‘Is it safe? That seems like it would put a lot of pressure on your body…’ he asked.

‘Sure.’ Haru answered but turned his head to one side. He didn’t know that for sure. Keeping quiet was one thing but he was no good at lying. He really didn’t know what would happen. He was sure that the risk would be worth it. What would he have without Makoto? He would much rather die than have to live a life alone without Makoto but he doubted that Makoto would see things the same way. He was pretty sure if roles were reversed he would not let Makoto attempt it. But it was his life and he could do as he wanted.

‘Haru.’ Makoto said sternly obviously unconvinced. Haru knew he was a bad liar but he still wasn’t sure how Makoto could read him so easily.

‘Don’t worry.’ He said. Haru just looked more concerned. ‘There is risk but don’t worry about it. It’s tiresome’

‘Haru, you can’t give up everything for me. This isn’t a decision you can make lightly. You should think about this.’ Haru sighed.

‘Mating season isn’t until six months away anyway, I have plenty of time to change my mind.’  Haru was still resolutely looking away but he couldn’t help but turn around at the choking noise coming from the other. He swung his head around alarmed to find Makoto had gone bright red. Haru watched him confusedly, the unasked question clear on his face.

‘Mating season?’ Makoto managed out eventually. ‘Haru…what do you need to do to become human?’ That’s right Haru hadn’t explained yet. He carefully related all that Rin had said. Makoto remained red and choking the whole way through.

‘So my s _eed_ needs to be inside of you and you need to stay out of the water all night and that turns you human?’ He asked disbelievingly. ‘Wait, you talk about mating, can I get you pregnant?’ He asked suddenly shocked. Haru hesitated.

‘Maybe? It’s normally harder for males to get pregnant and I’ll be human, do human males not get pregnant?’ Makoto shook his head, his colour slowly moving from a deep red to a pale yellow-y tinge. ‘Do you want to have sex with me?’ He asked bluntly. He was suddenly worried; he hadn’t considered the fact that he might not want to do it. Humans didn’t have special seasons for mating, they might be more picky about who they fornicate with. Makoto choked again but seemed to focus on Haru’s toned chest.

‘I really, really do.’ The words seemed to escape from his mouth and his eyes widened at his words. Haru blushed without really knowing why; the look Makoto was giving him was just extremely intense. ‘I mean, if you want to?’ he asked. Haru nodded shyly.

‘I…Merpeople mate for life though, I’ve never done this before.’ He murmured. ‘Rin said you should know what to do, that humans have multiple partners?’ Makoto nodded once again slowly.

‘I have yeah. We don’t mate for life like you do, but we do fall in love and normally, when you find someone you really care about, you’re with them for the rest of your life. Haru, I’ve never felt like this before and I’m not a fortune teller, I can’t tell you how I’ll feel a few years from now, but I think this is it for me. I’m done.’ Haru raised his eyes and felt his cheeks heat up even more. Makoto grinned goofily at him and Haru couldn’t take it.

‘Kiss me.’ He demanded. Makoto let out a low laugh and moved closer so that their lips were mere millimetres away from each other.

‘Ok.’ And he closed the gap.


	2. Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, thanks for all the kudos and comments already :) Really glad y'all liked the first chapter. anyway here's Part Two....

Makoto laughed. He really couldn’t get enough of the man in his arms and something about his constant deadpan tickled him. Haru was just so damn cute. It had been a couple of months since the confession and honestly, Makoto hadn’t ever been this happy. He had meant what he said to Haru about thinking this was it, the one or whatever you called it. He’d never felt so comfortable in himself, felt so safe holding another person in his arms and never felt so excited to see someone. This wasn’t the usual butterflies of dating someone new, this was much more real.

As well as swimming, they now spent significant amounts of time just lying on the rocks and talking. Makoto tried to tell him as much as possible about the human world to prepare him for the change should he make it and Haru filled him in on his past, with Rin and Sousuke and his parents and what life was really like for a merperson.  And kissing. They had spent a significant amount of time making out.

It felt like it should have been weirder, making out with a merman. But Makoto couldn’t help but note how natural it felt, how nice it was to just kiss and cuddle, despite the other man’s tail. He did need to hold himself back somewhat though. When they were close and he had such a beautiful creature in his arms moving and moaning at the sensations of the kiss, well, he couldn’t help but be aroused. It was something he couldn’t act on though. Haru was not human and didn’t have the right equipment to know what Makoto was feeling. He loved to kiss though. He seemed to be able to relish in the feelings alone and Makoto was fascinated he had to admit, but Haru was never great at verbalising what he felt and Makoto had to take his cue from the quiet little moans that escaped the others mouth when he kissed him hard or caressed his chest or ran his hands through his hair.

Haru took this moment to shift and Makoto stopped laughing to find him hovering over him.

‘Hi’ Makoto breathed out aware of what was coming and sure enough, Haru slowly lowered his lips down to the others, licking lightly at Makoto’s bottom lip. Makoto opened his mouth and let Haru explore him to his heart’s content. He really didn’t think he would get used to this feeling, of having Haru as his, of feeling so much all at once. It was bittersweet really. He constantly had Nagisa begging to meet his new boyfriend and he had to keep making excuses; his parents were constantly asking about his love life, wondering when he was going to settle down and he just didn’t really know what to say. But what was worse was not being able to take Haru home, to not be able to take him out for a date, to show him his world, and not just tell him about it. He tried not to pressure Haru and ask him too much about his decision to become human, but he was desperate to start their life together off properly.

Haru shifted above him and he felt heat pooling in his stomach. He subtly tried to shift the other one away from his crotch to prevent an embarrassing situation but Haru was having none of it, settling down in between Makoto’s legs, moving his hips against him experimentally. Makoto’s breath hitched and his eyes opened wide to find Haru staring determinedly down at him.

‘Makoto.’ He started.

‘Yeah?’ Makoto asked breathlessly.

‘I want to see you naked.’ Makoto choked.

‘What?’ He scrambled to sit up, careful to not jostle Haru too much.

‘I want to see you naked.’ He repeated bluntly. ‘I’ve never seen a human naked.’ Makoto blushed. He supposed it wasn’t too unreasonable a request. All of this time he’d been meeting up with Haru there was really only a thin strip of material separating them, but still, he’d tried so hard to keep their relationship unsexual. Haru sighed, seemingly exasperated at Makoto’s lack of action at his request. ‘We’re going to have sex in four months; I want to know what’s going to happen.’ He muttered turning his head to the side in a way Makoto had come to realise meant he was embarrassed or flustered.  He softened. It was only fair he supposed.

‘Um, ok then.’ He agreed.  They both looked at each other. Makoto was very much used to taking his clothes off in front of people in a more romantic setting than this so he felt awkward as he reached for his waistband and slowly peeled his swimsuit off of his legs. He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous, he was always shirtless in front of Haru, this was really no different; except it was. Haru was watching him so intently; so curiously, Makoto couldn’t help but feel extremely exposed. He was also very glad that he’d started bringing a picnic blanket to their visits as his bare ass touched the woolly material beneath him; this would be infinitely less comfortable on the rocks.

And then he was peeling, the leg-skins away from his ankles and he was naked. Haru’s gaze was fixed firmly on his cock, resting half-hard against his stomach. It was quite hard to not be turned on when that beautiful face was locked on his body with a strange sense of wonder on his face. Haru moved his gaze down to his legs and hesitantly reached out a hand. He quickly flicked his gaze up as if to ask for permission and Makoto nodded, still embarrassed.

Haru started at his feet, playing with each of his toes in turn inspecting them so seriously, Makoto had to hold in a giggle at the look on his boyfriend’s face. And then his hands were running up his muscled calves, gently stroking the hair there. Makoto used to shave when he was a swimmer in high school, but he’d stopped some time in college and his legs were now covered in a light layer of curly brown hairs. He supposed this must have seemed strange to Haru. Haru looked so cute; Makoto couldn’t help but grin and feel silly that he was so bashful about doing this.

And then Haru’s hand rose higher, up his thigh, right up to the jointure where muscles met in the groin area. Haru’s touch was light and gentle and at his caress, his dick twitched. This caught Haru’s attention and once again his focus was on his cock, now almost fully hard. Haru gently slid his hand over the tip, following the slit with his fingertips, Makoto held his breath.

‘So this is what a penis looks like.’ He murmured to himself ‘Are they always this big?’ and Makoto cursed the bluntness as he flushed bright red again. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

‘Not always, no.’ Haru nodded as he took in this information and slid his hand experimentally down his shaft to the base, and below to stroke his sac. Makoto twitched and held back a moan, He was just satisfying Haru’s curiosity, and he had to keep reminding himself as Haru’s hand slid lower to his butt cheeks. He suddenly looked up as if realising something.

‘Is this where the hole is?’ He asked brightly. Makoto could have died from embarrassment. ‘I can’t see it.’ Haru moved down further so that he was eye to eye with Makoto’s balls. Makoto closed his eyes and sighed before lifting his legs in the air and holding his butt cheeks open. He loved Haru. He’d been in this situation before. It’s just; he’d never had anyone be so serious about it, had anyone look at his hole at if was the most fascinating thing ever. Haru traced his rim delicately, looking concerned. Makoto frowned.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked. Haru looked at him shyly.  Despite his bluntness, Makoto knew that Haru hated asking questions, hated admitting he didn’t know something and wanted to know.

‘It’s so small and your penis is so big. How will it fit inside me?’ Makoto suddenly had a vision of what it might actually be like to be inside Haru and had the spark of realisation that this is what this was building up to. His dick twitched again as the arousal pooled around him. But he also remembered the first time he’d had sex; he’d been on the bottom and he was terrified about the pain and he understood Haru’s concern all too well.

‘It stretches.’ He explained. ‘It does hurt at first, but it does start to feel good I promise’ he answered as tenderly as he could with his legs in the air and asshole exposed. Haru nodded again looking slightly relieved and perhaps a little bit dubious, which Makoto guessed was completely reasonable really. Haru moved his hand back to his cock.

‘Does this feel good?’ Haru asked innocently as he wrapped his hand around his shaft moving it slightly. Makoto breathed deep.

‘Yeah’ he moaned lightly. Haru nodded thoughtfully.

‘Can I make you orgasm?’ Makoto dropped his legs in shock. Did Haru have to be so forward all the time?

‘Huh?’ he answered intelligently.

‘I want to make you orgasm’ Haru requested earnestly. ‘Can I try?’ Makoto frowned lifting himself up slightly to get a proper look at Haru.

‘Do you really want to?’ he asked carefully. He may be extremely turned on right now but he wasn’t about to make Haru do something he didn’t want to and probably didn’t really understand. But then that was the point maybe. Haru wanted to know how humans had intercourse so he knew what it expected. And so Makoto was torn between feeling like he might be taking advantage of Haru’s naivety and feeling sympathy for his uncertainty about the whole process.

‘Yes.’ Haru said and he gave Makoto a hard look. Makoto gulped; alright then. He supposed this would come in handy, if he was supposed to top; it wouldn’t do Haru any harm to know how to get himself off.

‘Ok’ he adjusted Haru’s grip slightly to the pressure he liked it. ‘People like it different ways.’ He explained carefully ‘what I like, you might not, but just move it up and down.’ Haru did it a bit too hard ‘ah, a bit gentler.’ Makoto corrected trying not to let the pain show too much on his face, he didn’t want to discourage him.

‘Like this?’ Haru asked moving his hand at a slower pace. That was much better.

‘Yeah’ Makoto breathed out. He would need it a bit faster to actually get off, but having Haru’s long, nimble fingers wrapped around his cock felt pretty amazing right now and he was more than happy to enjoy the light sensations for now. Haru was still studying his cock in wonder, and it was pretty damned hot. Makoto moaned and a bit of precum leaked out of his tip. He opened his mouth expecting to have to explain to Haru but next thing he knew, there was a wet warm mouth over it and a tongue was gently lapping at his slit. ‘Fuck’ he cried out and suddenly the warmth was gone. Haru looked at him panicked.

‘Was that wrong?’ he asked. Makoto was flustered.

‘No, no, it felt really good, I just wasn’t expecting it was all.’ He hurried to reassure mentally hitting himself for scaring the other boy. He was about to suggest that maybe they try this another day, that they’d done enough exploring for the night when the tongue was back, this time licking a stripe from the base to the tip. Haru obviously felt like he wasn’t done playing and honestly, Makoto’s self-control wasn’t that strong. So he leant back and let Haru get on with it.

After a few more long licks, he began swirling his tongue around the head, licking up any precum, and then cautiously the head was in his mouth. Makoto moaned at the feeling of his cock being engulfed in that wet warmth and willed himself not to buck up into the other’s mouth. Instead he contented himself with sneaking a peek at the other man. He groaned at the sight. Haru’s blue eyes were round and glowing in the afternoon sunlight, his small beautiful mouth stretched around his cock. He could almost come at the sight alone.

‘God Haru.’ He moaned hazily reaching out to run a hand through the other’s hair. ‘You’re so hot.’ Haru decided to take this as encouragement and took more of Makoto’s cock in his mouth, letting his tongue caress the underneath. Makoto revelled in the silky feeling of the other’s mouth and moaned as Haru gave an experimental, hard suck. And Makoto couldn’t believe that this beautiful man was willingly sucking his cock so greedily. This was really good for someone’s first blow job and he was pretty sure half of it was the other’s obvious enthusiasm for the task at hand. Haru slid more of his cock into his mouth so that the tip hit the back of his throat, he gagged slightly but didn’t stop and Makoto moaned at the sheer hotness of this action.

Haru’s hand returned to the rest of his shaft that didn’t fit in his mouth gently moving his hand up and down like Makoto had shown him earlier. He was obviously a quick learner and it didn’t take long before the pleasure began building up, until it was too much.

‘Haru, I’m coming’ he managed out wanting to warn the other, but Haru didn’t move back like he expected him to and before he knew it, he was shooting his load right down the other’s throat. Haru made a surprised sound but managed to swallow it all down. He pulled himself away from Makoto’s softening cock and licked up the remnants from around his mouth. Makoto stared and his cock twitched feebly at the sight but suddenly he was filled with horror. ‘Oh Haru, I’m sorry, I should have given you more warning.’ He cried sitting up. Haru frowned.

‘Stupid. I wanted you to orgasm. It was fine. Salty.’ Makoto blushed but was mollified.

‘Come here’ he murmured holding his arms out. Haru obediently pulled himself forward and settled down on Makoto’s chest. Makoto held him hard and fought the sleep pulling at his brain. He needed to go home and Haru had already been out of the water for a while, he would need to go back into the sea soon. But as he held the warm body close against his own, he realised that he really could get used to this.

                                      *             *             *

 

The next few months passed slowly and agonisingly for Haru. He hated having to say goodbye to Makoto every night. He’d managed to convince Makoto to let him get him off a few more times and he particularly loved the afterglow, lying in Makoto’s arms as he was completely exhausted from being pleasured. Haru couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of pride that he was able to make Makoto feel so good and began looking forward to the time when he would get to experience the pleasure for himself with Makoto in a couple of months’ time.

Makoto had told him to take his time and really think about it, as if he could think about anything else. It would be awkward going into the human world. Makoto was talking about forging documents and him getting a job and other human things. It seemed complicated but Haru was willing to do anything at all. Rin had come to visit and given him more warnings about how little he knew about the process but honestly, what choice did he have? He would choose Makoto over himself a hundred times or more. He was scared. He couldn’t deny that he worried about what happened; that he sometimes panicked it wouldn’t work, that he would hate being a human or that he should die in the process. But what he was really scared of was losing Makoto.

He studied him as he sat on the rocks, his feet kicking back and forth in the water, making it splash over Haru’s back as he leant on the rocks between the other’s legs; not that Haru minded. He would definitely miss the water; miss the ease with which he could move underwater with his tail. However, Makoto could swim and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t intrigued about being able to thrash his legs around; it seemed freeing somehow.

 Makoto was smiling at him and talking about something that Haru had lost track of. He didn’t always listen to what Makoto was saying. He knew he should but he was more than content to watch that beautiful face and listen to the soothing voice. Makoto seemed to expect nothing more from him content to speak and simply be in each other’s company.

‘Nagisa really won’t stop going on about you, he really can’t wait to meet you.’ Makoto finished saying his eyes glinting. Haru started slightly and blushed. He didn’t know Makoto talked about him to his friends. Makoto smiled wider. He had this way of looking at Haru like he was the most amazing thing in the world and Haru hoped that one day he could make Makoto feel as special as that. Makoto dropped his gaze though and looked to the side. ‘Well, if you decide to be human that is.’ He smiled a half-smile. It seemed kind of sad to Haru.

‘Makoto.’ Haru said seriously. ‘I will be human.’  Makoto flashed him a rueful smile which seemed to say ‘if you say so.’ Haru huffed and looked away.

‘Annoying.’ He muttered. Makoto let out a low chuckle.

‘Cute’ he retorted. Haru glared.

‘I love you Haru-Chan’ Haru huffed again but felt his lips tug at the corners. He would never tire of hearing that, though he did wonder if it would stop making him blush so much or whether his heart was one day stop trying to break out of his ribcage every time it was said. He still couldn’t quite believe he’d managed to find someone who cared about him so much.

‘Love you too’ he muttered and then dived below the water to cool himself off. When he resurfaced flicking the hair out of his face, Makoto had his full grin back in place. He somehow managed to slide himself into the small space between Haru and the rocks whilst Haru watched him cautiously. They were so close their noses were almost touching; so much for cooling down… Makoto swiftly leant in and placed a neat kiss on his lips. Haru couldn’t help but smile properly that time.

*             *             *

Makoto was nervous. Today was the day that mating season began. Haru had maintained all of this time that he wanted to go through with it but Makoto couldn’t help but worry. What if Haru changed his mind at the last minute? What if it didn’t work? What if it really didn’t work and he really lost the other? He would be left without Haru forever and he really wasn’t sure he could cope with that.

And then there was the whole part of what if it did work? What if Haru hated being a human? What if he hated sex? Makoto had never been in the position of taking someone’s virginity before and definitely had never had to show someone how things actually happened. He’d had a few partners at his ripe age of twenty-five but he still couldn’t help but be a bit nervous about being Haru’s first. He was sure he could make him feel good. Haru was right in that he was rather _big_ though and he’d had boyfriends which loved it but he’d also had a few that found it intimidating. He generally preferred to top but ideally, he felt that Haru should for his first time.

That was not an option though and he was terrified of hurting him. Haru was a loner by nature and had a thick skin, yet Makoto couldn’t help but want to protect him and keep him safe. He supposed that this was the big brother in him. Nonetheless, he should trust in Haru and if Haru wanted to be with him half as much as he did, he was sure it would be nothing.

He was standing on the rocks nervously. The weather was a bit cooler now and evening was fast approaching so he was fully clothed. It had been starting to get a bit hard to swim in the sea in just his legskins lately and he had resorted to full scuba suit much to Haru’s chagrin. But Haru couldn’t spend much time out of the water so it was that or no swimming.  Except today they would be naked. And Haru would be human. And despite the worry, Makoto couldn’t help the leap of excitement in his stomach at the thought. A human Haru he could introduce to his friends, he could take on dates, and he could cuddle up to at night…

His apartment was ready for Haru. He’d travelled a couple of towns over on his last day off to go clothes shopping for someone Haru’s size without being seen and he’d bought extra drawer space. It would be a shock for everyone that he was moving in with a boyfriend they’d never met, but they’d come up with a story that Haru had had to leave his last place suddenly. People would ask questions and whilst Makoto might crack under the pressure he was confident that Haru wouldn’t answer and would deter people from gossiping too much.  And there was lube in his rucksack. He didn’t want to bother Haru with the nuances of human illness but he had gone for a full STD check just in case. Not using a condom was also a novelty to him but again the choice was out of his hands. He’d always prided himself on being responsible no matter how excruciatingly embarrassing he found getting checked out was and he wasn’t about to risk Haru’s health as soon as he became human.

He tapped his foot and whistled to himself. He’d set up a tent for them both further back on the rocks and had towels and blankets to spare. He also didn’t want them freezing to death. He watched the sea for disturbances but he never really saw Haru coming until the last minute. And sure enough, the water barely moved in the cool autumn air as Haru’s eyes suddenly rose above the surface. And Makoto instantly calmed. He would be with Haru and he would be ok.

Haru was immediately followed by a merman with red hair and one with similar hair to his; Rin and Sousuke. Haru had huffed the night before that they had wanted to say goodbye and to meet Makoto. Makoto understood all too well. Nagisa and Rei had been together practically forever but he imagined Rin and Haru were more like siblings and there was no way he wouldn’t be checking out either of his younger siblings’ boyfriends or girlfriends should they get serious. He also couldn’t imagine saying goodbye for such a long time. They had arranged a monthly time to meet up with the other mermen but still, that seemed an awfully long time to go without friends.

‘Hello. My name’s Tachibana Makoto’ he greeted brightly trying to not let his nervousness show through. His bravado faltered though as he was met with two cold glares in return. Haru rolled his eyes and poked Rin in the arm.

‘Oi.’ Rin turned his glare briefly to his friend but after a brief war with their eyes. He sighed and turned to Makoto.

‘Hi. I’m Rin, this is Sousuke.’ He answered grudgingly. He flicked his gaze back to Haru. ‘You sure you want to do this?’ Haru rolled his eyes again.

‘Yes.’  Rin nodded seriously before leaping on his friend. Makoto watched abashed at the change of attitude not sure whether he should acquiesce to the ‘save me’ look in his lover’s face. The choice was taking out of his hands by a clicking noise to the right. He turned to see Sousuke clicking his fingers at him.

‘Look after him ok?’ he demanded threateningly. Makoto was sure Haru had said he wasn’t too fond of this guy so he was a bit surprised at the warning.

‘Of course.’ He answered earnestly. And he was answered with a grin.

‘Good, or there’ll be hell to pay. Rin’s not happy about this as it is.’ He answered. Makoto smiled back.

‘I get it. I do. But I love Haru and I’ll do anything to make sure he’s safe. I promise.’ Sousuke nodded convinced but he heard loud cursing from the merman’s partner.

‘Rin don’t cry.’ His lover scolded him and Makoto looked shocked to find tears flowing noticeably down his face; he’d let go of Haru to attempt to rub them away with his fists.

‘He does this all the time’ Haru deadpanned answering the unspoken concern in Makoto’s face.

‘Fuck you.’ Rin growled out. But Haru seemed unmoved.

‘Rin, we should get going.’ Sousuke murmured just about audibly moving to pull his lover gently away from Haru. Rin growled under his breath but with one more threat to Makoto to look after Haru or else and a brief hug with Haru, they were gone. And Makoto and Haru were alone. Makoto turned to his lover, wondering if Haru was even half as nervous as he was. He sometimes felt that Haru would look as calm and collected even if the whole world was falling down around him. He felt a thrill go through him as he suddenly pictured what the other would be like in the throes of passion, whether his mask would fall, his exterior crack… Makoto shook himself before focusing on Haru, reaching his hand out to pull him onto the rocks.

Haru thanked him quietly and stared at him intently. Makoto smiled and leant his head against the others. They had to wait for sunset for Haru’s tail to disappear which should be happening within the next hour. He’d brought them a tent for the night but for now he was more than happy to just sit and watch the shadows stir on the ocean surface, the comforting weight of his lover at his side.

*             *             *

 

When Haru woke up he was damp in a way that was most certainly not pleasant. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes a few times and looked up to see a blank canopy above him; he was definitely not in the sea. And then his mind caught up with the situation. He was on land, in a tent with Makoto where they’d moved when they’d got too cold earlier in the evening waiting for his tail to disappear and they must have fallen asleep. Wait, his tail? He jolted upright and was amazed by the sight before him.

 

His tail was gone and in its place were two long human legs.

 

The sensation was like nothing he’d ever felt before. He experimentally wiggled his toes and slid his hands down them; they weren’t as big or firm as Makoto’s and though the hair there was darker, it certainly wasn’t as thick. He ran his hand up to his thigh. He wanted to try all kinds of things with his new limbs but he knew that the mating had to happen soon or else he would need to jump into the water and ruin the whole thing. He slid his hand across from his thigh to the tight patch of curls on his groin and examined his cock. It was nowhere near as big as Makoto’s but a similar shape and erect, his head poking through the foreskin although Makoto told him mostly it would be limp. Tentatively, and with a slight shiver of anticipation, he traced his fingers along the shaft like he’s done several times to Makoto. He gasped at the touch. It was intense but felt good. He gripped it loosely and moved his hand up and down. And he suddenly realised he didn’t want his own hand to be doing this; he wanted Makoto’s.

 

He turned desperately to the sleeping boy beside him and barely stopping to take in how adorable he looked sleeping, gave him a keen shove.

 

‘Ah!’ Makoto woke with a jolt and blinked blurrily. ‘Haru?’ Haru smiled down at him.

 

‘Makoto. I have legs.’ Makoto looked at him oddly for a second before realisation hit him.

 

‘What? Really? How long have we been asleep?’  He asked rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Haru was buzzing; he felt an excitement from deep in his belly that coiled round his chest, and hummed impatiently on his tongue; his body was on fire and he felt the need to touch the man in front of him. And he could; he realised. He reached out and brushed Makoto’s hair out his eyes drawing the attention solely onto him and it seemed to wake the other up fully. His eyes widened and slowly he lowered his gaze, following the lines and curves of Haru’s new body. He swallowed harshly and raised his eyes to Haru’s. Haru felt strangely nervous under the inspection. What if he wasn’t attractive in his human form? Haru was certainly attracted to Makoto’s body but he had no real idea about human standards of beauty and how he measured up. Then Makoto surged forward and his mind was put to rest.

 

Makoto carefully pushed Haru into the ground below as he kissed him. Haru gripped onto his back and drew the other man closer to him. Was this how Makoto felt around him all the time? He felt the material of Makoto’s jeans graze across his crotch and he felt his cock twitch. He pushed his hips up to find that Makoto was hard already and he suddenly, desperately wanted this other man. He’d had no prior notion of what this would feel like before this and he couldn’t tell if he liked it or not. It was like an itch deep in his veins that no amount of scratching would release; a deep ache in his bones that felt like it would never fade; he was overheating and breathless and there were sensations spreading across his body like water and he felt like Makoto’s body was the only way to feel better.

 

He began pulling at the other’s shirt and Makoto laughed into his lips before pulling away. He looked down at him, a knowing smile on his face and Haru did not appreciate the distance. He glared. Makoto simply laughed again and pulled the shirt over his head. No sooner had he got rid of the item of clothing than Haru had started on his bottoms, fiddling with the buttons there. He’d helped Makoto undress a few times over the last few months but the mechanism still felt foreign to his hands and he fumbled in his desperation. Makoto stilled his hands and planted a firm kiss on his lips.

 

‘Relax.’ He murmured. Haru frowned. He didn’t want to. He wanted to know what it felt like to have Makoto inside of him; to feel his naked body against his. He was sure it would feel amazing.

 

‘But…’ he made to argue but was stopped with another firm kiss. He raised his eyes to meet Makoto’s and saw pure amusement there. And he felt a pout form on his lips. Makoto leant forward to gently kiss up his jaw.

 

‘I know we have to do this relatively quickly, but if we go too fast I could hurt you and I want you to feel good Haru.’ He whispered. Haru shivered at the sensation but he couldn’t help the slight pang of panic.

 

‘Hurt?’ he whispered barely audibly. Makoto was focused on kissing a line from his ear down to his neck however he paused to place a chaste kiss on his nose. He looked apologetically down at Haru.

 

‘Possibly? I’m sorry, we don’t have to do this is you don’t want…’ This time Haru shut Makoto up with a kiss. He didn’t get this far to back out at the last minute for fear of a little bit of pain.

 

‘Stupid’ he added for good measure and Makoto blushed cutely as he always does.

 

‘Ok’ he smiled down at Haru and with a quick peck on the nose finally undid the buttons on his trousers. Pain did make sense after all, something that big into a hole that small, although he knew he would stretch to accommodate it, it must hurt at least a little. And speaking of big, he could see the outline of Makoto’s cock in his underwear and a deep spasm of heat shot through him from his balls to his face, and once more he felt like his body was on fire. Despite Makoto’s earlier warnings, he couldn’t help but reach out and pull at the others only remaining clothes but Makoto let him slide his underwear down, awkwardly kicked them off when they reached his ankles, moving to sit on his heels.

 

Haru stared. How could he not; the beautiful man before him, completely unclothed and watching him with such unabashed wonder and awe. Not for the first time that night, Haru blushed and slid his hand down the others chest, carefully tracing the lines of muscles there. As he neared his hip, Makoto let out a breath and suddenly fell forward connecting their lips hard. Haru moaned at the contact and pushed forward so that their groins touched and he felt himself losing control of his body.  Makoto let out a gasp and thrust against him.

 

‘Haru’ he moaned lowly.  And his lips were on him again, against his, kissing gently down his jaw and then wet, open-mouthed kisses across his neck and down his chest, flicking his tongue out against his belly button. And through all of this Haru couldn’t understand how he was still breathing, how he was still alive; but his breaths were harsh and panting and his heart had never beat so strong. He was sure this feeling could kill him and if it was going to, it wasn’t just going to be for kisses as amazing as they were.

 

‘Makoto’ he whined and lifted his hips slightly and then there were strong hands catching his calves and slowly pushing them back. He saw a flick of a smirk on the others face before his cock was engulfed and he cried out. He didn’t dare himself to look down and instead just closed his eyes and revelled in the feeling of Makoto’s mouth on him, his tongue licked at the tip before moving up and down. Was this how he made Makoto feel? Was this how it would feel to be inside him?

 

And then the wetness was gone and instead there were kisses; cute little pecks across his shaft and down his balls and Makoto lifted his legs higher forcing him to rest on his shoulders, his legs fully over Makoto’s. Makoto checked he was secure and moved his hands to his butt, gently spreading them. Haru could feel his breath on his hole and the anticipation was killing him. But then something hard and wet was stroking at his crack; his tongue. It was Makoto’s tongue licking at him and then pushing in so softly so gently. But still, the feeling was strange. Haru cried out; more from surprise than anything else. The feeling was weird and not altogether pleasant though a little bit of liquid leaked from his cock as makoto pushed in and out. After a few more times he began to get used to the intrusion and relaxed slightly. He supposed he was opening up but he couldn’t say he was excited for more.

 

With one last lick inside him Makoto withdrew; his lips were swollen from all of the kissing and Haru couldn’t help but draw him forward for another kiss despite where his mouth had been. Makoto acquiesced to the kiss but reached for his rucksack distractedly as he did so. Haru watched him curiously as he drew away and began searching in his bag, straining his eyes against the dark.  Makoto shot him a smile before he pulled out a small bottle. Seeing Haru’s gaze he blushed and whispered ‘lube’ before resuming the kissing.

 

Haru didn’t understand but relented to kissing, still amazed at the feeling of Makoto’s back muscles rippling below his hands; and how much he wanted to stay pushed against the firm body above his. Without breaking the kiss, he heard the click of the bottle opening and Makoto moving his hand down his body. And then there was something wet and firm probing against his ass once more. He tensed involuntarily not sure whether he was ready for the intrusion yet. He still wanted Makoto inside and knew he had to but this just put more pressure on him and he felt his whole body clench.  Makoto drew away from the kiss.

 

‘Hey, it’s ok’ he whispered ‘It’ll feel good soon, I promise.’ Haru looked up into those bright green eyes and he let out a breath.

 

‘it’s ok’ he repeated back and Makoto smiled.

 

‘yeah’ he agreed with a peck on his forehead. ‘Just try and remember to breathe’ Haru nodded and focussed on breathing in and out and he felt the digit pressing at his entrance. He breathed in deep and Makoto pushed it in. Haru tensed but consciously let out his breath and tried to relax again slowly. It hurt but he had felt worse before and Makoto had said he would feel good soon and as he was entrusting him with his life right now, there was no sense in not trusting him with this. So he focused on breathing in and out as Makoto ‘s finger swirled around inside him crooking and stretching. He was finally growing accustomed to the feeling when he felt a second finger joining the first. He let out a noise of surprise and Makoto was kissing him again, but never taking his fingers out from inside him.

 

‘You doing ok?’ Makoto asked concern evident. Haru nodded and with a reluctant kiss Makoto carried on with his task, occasionally kissing or sucking at Haru’s thighs as if to remind him it was ok.  He relaxed and had to admit he was starting to enjoy the stretching feeling inside him and the squelching noises were becoming louder as Makoto probed deeper inside him, feeling around his tight walls. He wondered if this was it; the pleasure everyone described about sex. It was much more subtle than he had thought. It had felt much more intense when Makoto was sucking on his dick; but maybe taking it wasn’t supposed to be as intense as giving.

 

But then a pleasure spiked through him like nothing he’d ever felt before. He screamed at the sheer force of the pleasure both wanting it to stop and continue. Makoto’s fingers were stroking at a place inside of him and the pleasure kept coming. He heard Makoto laugh.

 

‘Feel good now?’  he murmured against his hip. Haru could only moan and Makoto used the momentum to slip a third finger in. Haru opened his eyes and looked down. Makoto had drawn back a bit and he could see Makoto’s cock; large, and flushed red, his tip leaking against his stomach. And Haru wanted it.

 

‘Makoto, I need you in me now.’ Makoto looked up shocked at the begging tone.

 

‘Now?’

 

‘Please I need you inside me now.’ He reached out to stroke at Makoto’s dick eliciting a moan from the other. ‘I need this inside me, please’. He wasn’t going to break; he was ready to join with his mate, to feel the pleasure of the other moving inside of him. Makoto’s eyes had glazed over at the soft ministrations from Haru’s hand.

 

‘Yeah, ok.’ He managed to choke out and leant forward to kiss the other deeply. As he pulled away, Haru saw him reach for the lube again and with a click of the bottle, he poured some onto his hands and then onto his cock. Haru watched curiously but apprehensively. He understood what was about to happen and as much he burned with the longing of it, he couldn’t help but be a little bit worried about the process.

 

Makoto knelt between his legs and he felt completely at the other’s mercy. A shiver of anticipation ripped through him but he breathed deep and spread his legs further. There was something strangely warming about giving his body up to the other man; something exciting about relinquishing control.

 

Makoto kissed him again and murmured an ‘I love you’ against his lips as he felt the tip of Makoto’s cock pressing against his entrance. He breathed out and then he was breeched. Makoto pushed in half way and let Haru adjust before pushing in all the way with a low moan in Haru’s ear. It was a strange feeling, Makoto’s cock was a lot bigger than his fingers and he felt stretched and full. It wasn’t altogether unpleasant but he guessed it would take some getting used to.

 

‘Are you ok?’ Haru looked up into those green eyes he loved so much, looking down at him with concern, glazed with lust. The thought came unbidden into his head then, about what it must feel like to be inside him, surrounded by a warm tight heat. And another thought took over; Makoto was inside him, this fullness, this stretching in his body, was Makoto. They were completely joined in the most intimate of ways and that was amazing. The heat he was feeling seemed to increased tenfold in that second of realisation and he knew he wanted to have Makoto pleasure himself with his body, to spill his seed into him, marking him as Makoto’s and only Makoto’s.

 

‘Move.’ He demanded, his voice coming out breathier than he ever thought his voice could sound and Makoto chuckled in his ear and it was so damn sexy, Haru thought he might have stopped breathing. Makoto pressed a firm wet kiss on his lips and without moving from his mouth, he pulled out and swiftly thrusted back into Haru’s body. He couldn’t hold back the gasp that escaped him at the sensation and as Makoto moved into him again and again, his sweat slicked chest sliding over his, his deep groans and heavy breaths filling the tent, Haru swore he was going to burn up from the inside out; from where Makoto was making love to him, right down to his fingertips, was just too hot to be real.

 

His skin was still damp and he was overwhelmed with the touch, the smell, the sound, the taste and the sight of his lover taking him. Makoto’s face was flushed in obvious pleasure, alternating between pressing wet, messy kisses to Haru’s mouth or neck and just looking down at Haru like he was the most amazing thing in the world. His touches veered from gentle caresses across his face to bruising as he intertwined their fingers. He bit his lip and angled himself in a new way and as his cock hit that wonderful, wonderful place inside him, Haru cried out and his body bucked upwards.

 

Makoto was busy mouthing the area between his neck and shoulder as he did so and he could feel the grin cross his lover’s face against his skin. Obviously pleased that he’d found it, Makoto began to thrust in earnest in the same position and Haru was trembling with the assault, his body overtaken, his vision swimming, he reached down and pulled at Makoto’s butt cheeks pulling him in as deep as he could go. Makoto let out a strangled noise and then suddenly pulled himself back up, sitting on his haunches. Green eyes met haru’s as they swapped hazy gazes.

 

‘Touch yourself’ Makoto demanded and a thrill ran through Haru at the tone, he’d never heard Makoto sound so commanding before and he groaned as he reached his hand down to his cock. It twitched and spurted out pre-cum at his initial touch and soon he was moving his hand up and down, harder and faster, losing himself in how good he felt, especially with Makoto’s eyes fixed on his movements, his gaze searing through him.

 

 And then Makoto was moving again, harder than before, just plunging into him again and again, chasing his orgasm. And with one particularly well-placed thrust that coincided with him gripping his cock harder, Haru was coming, his orgasm spurting over his hand and his stomach. Makoto moaned out what sounded a lot like ‘Haru’ and with one last thrust, Haru felt his cock twitching inside him, warm liquid coating his insides, Makoto’s grip hardening on his hips as he held Haru in place until he was done.

 

Haru lay dazed. In all his imagination, he never figured sex would feel like that. The physical pleasure as well as the fuzzy warmth he felt at the thought that he and Makoto had brought that pleasure on together, with their naked bodies moving against each other. He had never thought he would be so willing to give up his body to another, but he would let Makoto use him like this again and again. But for now, his body was tired and his mind was fogged up with the afterglow of his orgasm.

 

‘Haru’ He opened his eyes having not realised he’d closed them in the first place and was facing his lover. Makoto seemed to have come back to himself somewhat, his eyes tired but bright and radiating pure unadulterated love, no longer shaded by the lust that taken over earlier. ‘That was amazing. Are you ok?’ Haru could only nod. Makoto smiled sweetly down at him before carefully extricating himself from Haru’s body. Haru let out a weird sound as the sensation of Makoto pulling out of him and cum dripping out of him and down his leg hit him at once. Makoto stopped a second, eyes trained to Haru’s wet, abused hole before he reached over for his rucksack again. He pulled out a small towel and began to wipe Haru and himself down gently. Haru closed his eyes and let Makoto take care of them unsure of whether he would even be able to move right now. He heard the soft thud of the towel being thrown across the tent and then felt the sleeping bag below him shift as Makoto flopped down beside him.

 

Gearing up the remaining energy he had, Haru opened his eyes and turned to face his now-mate.

 

‘I like sex. We should do it again.’ He stated matter of fact-ly. He watched in amusement as Makoto turned bright red at the statement, despite the dirty things they had just been doing.

 

‘Haru’ he moaned covering his face with his hand and then seemingly to hide his embarrassment, he pulled Haru flush against him and pulled the sleeping bag up to cover their naked bodies. ‘I’m glad you liked it.’ He whispered almost inaudibly. Haru smiled against the chest he was now pressed against and snuggled deeper into Makoto’s embrace, Makoto’s arms tightening in response. ‘Love you.’

 

‘Love you too.’ Haru managed out before he succumbed to the warmth and let sleep take him.

 

*             *             *

 

It was cold. Makoto felt consciousness pulling at his brain, urging him to wake up quicker though he wasn’t sure why, though he thought the cold might have something to do with it. For some reason, he knew he shouldn’t be cold. Ah, that’s right, he’d just had mind-blowing sex with Haru and they fell asleep intertwined. That’s why he shouldn’t be cold. He opened his eyes and blinked. It was still dark and he needed to adjust to the dim light. Now that he was awake, he was suddenly aware of the ragged breathing that now filled the tent.

‘Haru?’ he questioned into the darkness.

‘Ma…Mako...to.’ Haru breathed. ‘I…’ An audible swallow. ‘I don’t feel so good.’ Makoto sat up and reached to his left for his phone. After fiddling for a bit he managed to turn his phone’s backlight on, blinking against the new brightness from the device, he quickly located Haru, sat up and scrunched over himself at the other side of the tent.

‘Hey, it’s ok’ he murmured the first platitude that came to his head as he shuffled closer to the other man. He reached out and found his lover’s arm, he ran his fingers up and down lightly, like he used to do for the twins when they had nightmares and he was mildly disturbed by how cold the other felt, yet damp, like he was sweating. Now he was closer, he could also feel the other trembling violently, he pulled the other to him and held on tight. ‘Haru, talk to me if you can, what are you feeling?’  Haru gulped and seemed to choke on his own saliva as he tried to speak.

‘It hurts.’ He pushed out ‘everywhere, and hot, so hot.’ He coughed again. Makoto winced, Haru may say he felt hot but his skin was still icy. He wanted so badly to give him water or something but they had decided that Haru was best abstaining from all water until the morning, they didn’t know what any water in his system would do whilst the transformation was taking place. Makoto was all too aware that Merpeople shouldn’t be out of the water this long though and all of his misgivings about this whole thing came flooding back.

‘Haru, if it’s that bad, maybe we should get you back in the water.’ He suggested softly. Haru’s hands tightened almost painfully where they were holding on to Makoto’s thigh.

‘No.’

‘Haru, please, I don’t want to lose you.’ Makoto pleaded. He was starting to feel desperate, he couldn’t bear that Haru was pushing himself through this for him.

‘Me neither, you won’t lose me.’ He murmured. Makoto opened his mouth to argue but Haru wouldn’t let him. ‘I’m not getting in the water; you can’t make me.’ Makoto bit his lip.

‘I just don’t know what to do.’ He admitted feeling like a failure. Haru was his to look after, looking after people was what he was good at but this situation was so far removed from normal, he didn’t even know where to start. Haru turned his head then and snuggled into Makoto’s chest and Makoto reflexively ran his hand through the other’s hair.

‘Just hold me.’ So he did. They both lay awake on top of their sleeping bag, Makoto clutching Haru to him, like he was the most precious thing in the world, which really he was. And just held him as he shook and shuddered his way through the night, both wondering just exactly what the morning would bring.

 

                                                     *             *             *            

 

When Haru woke again, he was no longer wet though he was hot. It didn’t feel like he was trying to combust from the inside out any more though which was definitely a positive. In fact, the heat seemed to very much external, radiating from the hot body he was clutched tightly against and searing through the thin tent walls from the morning sunshine. He blinked at the realisation that it must be long past sunrise and he was alive and judging by the way his limbs were wrapped around his lovers, he was very definitely human.

It worked! He let out a rare laugh before slapping his hand across his mouth. He was torn between waking up his lover and having someone share in his excitement or relishing the moment and snuggling down with his lover like many mornings to come from this point on. However, his excitement got the better of him and he was practically vibrating with anticipation of Makoto waking up and finding out that they had been successful.

He wiggled his way out of his lover’s arms and rolled out of the sleeping bag feeling the urge to go outside and enjoy the weak winter sunshine. He was warm right now but knew he would be cold if he went outside. He pulled Makoto’s rucksack closer to him, vaguely remembering his partner saying he’d packed human clothes for him. After finding a t-shirt and some baggy trousers that looked more his size than Makoto’s he pulled them on hastily and with some difficulty, not used to wearing these things himself no matter how many times he’d undressed Makoto, as well as trying to work out how to move his new body.

He didn’t quite trust himself to walked unaided so settled for attempting to crawl through the tent door, which he found he could do well enough, and he moved on all fours out on the sandy ground that stood just before the rocks. He really wanted to sit at the spot where he first saw Makoto and admire the ocean in his new body, maybe even risk a swim in the cooling water but he didn’t think he could go that far and settled for slumping down outside the tent, trying various positions before cautiously crossing his legs and finding that comfortable enough. Legs were harder work than he had thought. It didn’t feel like much longer before he heard the tent door unzipping behind him.

‘Haru?’ He heard Makoto call and he couldn’t resist turning to smile brightly at his lover. Makoto stared for what felt like several minutes before giving out a shout of laughter and tackling Haru. Haru fell back on the hard ground, holding onto his lover tightly. He felt warmth pricking at the corner of his eyes and wondered if he was going to cry. His chest certainly felt like it might just burst from the sheer jubilation and relief of the moment and as Makoto began to rain kisses down all over his face, he let the dam burst ever so slightly and let tears fall from his eyes. Judging from the overly wet nature of the kisses, he assumed he wasn’t the only one giving in to his emotions right now. And sure enough when Makoto finally looked up to him, those green, green eyes he loved so much were shining much too brightly.

‘It worked.’ Haru confirmed.

‘Yeah…’ Makoto answered dazedly, his grin spreading even wider than the first time they kissed. ‘it really did’ and his eyes roamed his now-human lover’s body. Haru felt his cheeks heat up from the sheer affection the other was openly bestowing on him and felt the need to move.

‘I want to go sit on the rocks.’ He announced. Makoto’s smile didn’t waver as he stood and helped lift Haru to his feet. Haru stumbled even as he was gripped tightly by his mate, unused to the feeling of having to put weight on his feet.

‘I guess this will take some practice, huh, Haru-chan?’ Makoto questioned happily. He shifted Haru so that one of his arms went over his shoulder. ‘Ok, one foot in front of the other’ Haru tried and though he stumbled every other step, they eventually made it to the rocks where the whole thing began.

Who’d have known when he first found that human on his favourite spot on the rocks, that he would soon be sitting in that same spot with legs, in human clothes, with said human sat right by his side. He smiled lightly as he considered how lucky he was that this was the way things did go in the end and as he leant his head on Makoto’s shoulder to watch the blue waves of the sea rolling gently against their feet, he let himself daydream about his new life as a human with his new, gorgeous, human lover.

**Author's Note:**

> This is in two parts purely because it was so long, second part to be appear imminently....


End file.
